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Case 1: Van Orden V. Perry

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Case 1: Van Orden V. Perry NC YMCA Youth & Government 2021 Court of Appeals Case 1 VAN ORDEN v. PERRY This case was created and issued by StreetLaw. We are appreciative of their support of this program and nurturing the potential of our delegates. YAG Court of Appeals 2021 Van Orden v. Perry Case 1 Page 1 Van Orden v. Perry Argued: March 2, 2005 ​ Decided: June 27, 2005 ​ Facts The Texas state capitol and its surrounding 22 acres were dedicated on May 16, 1888. Since that time, 17 monuments have been erected on the capitol grounds, a protected National Historic Landmark maintained by the State Preservation Board. Early in 1961, the Fraternal Order of Eagles gave a granite monument of the Ten Commandments, approximately six-feet high and three-and-a-half feet wide, to the state. In accepting the monument, the Texas House and Senate passed a joint resolution to “recognize and commend a private organization for its efforts to reduce juvenile delinquency.” In the center of the monument a large panel displays the text of the Commandments, and above the text are depictions of two small tablets with ancient Hebrew script. The monument also has an etching of an American eagle grasping the American flag. Just below the text are two small Stars of David, as well as a symbol representing Christ: two Greek letters, Chi and Rho superimposed on each other. The monument also bears the inscription: PRESENTED TO THE PEOPLE AND YOUTH OF TEXAS BY THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES OF TEXAS 1961. The expenses of placing the monument on the capitol grounds were borne completely by the Eagles; the monument requires virtually no maintenance. This monument is located on a line between the state’s supreme court and the capitol rotunda, approximately halfway between the two buildings (about 100 feet from each building). The plaintiff in this case, Thomas Van Orden, asked the federal district court to order the State of Texas to remove the monument from the grounds of the state capitol. After a bench trial the court rejected Van Orden’s claim and entered judgment for the state. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed. The Supreme Court of the United States has also granted review in a similar case from Kentucky in which the Sixth Circuit held that two counties had to remove framed copies of the Ten Commandments from their courthouse walls (McCreary County v. ACLU). ​ ​ Issue Does the placement of the Ten Commandments monument on state property between the Texas state capitol and Texas supreme court violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment? Supreme Court Tests to Evaluate an Alleged Establishment Clause Violation YAG Court of Appeals 2021 Van Orden v. Perry Case 1 Page 2 ● The Lemon Test – Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) To survive an Establishment Clause challenge under this test, a policy: 1. Must have a secular purpose; 2. Must have a principal or primary effect that doesn’t advance or inhibit religion; and 3. Must not foster excessive government entanglement with religion. ● The Endorsement Test – Lynch v. Donnelly, (1984) & County of Allegheny v. ACLU, (1989) 1. In Lynch, where the Court allowed a nativity scene to be included in a city’s multifaceted ​ ​ holiday display, Justice O’Connor proposed a modified version of the Lemon test, focusing ​ ​ on whether the government is advancing or endorsing religion. 2. This approach was adopted by a majority of the Court in Allegheny, where the Court ​ ​ prohibited the display of a nativity scene at a county courthouse. 3. The endorsement test does not prevent government from taking religion into account in making law or policy, but it precludes government from conveying or attempting to convey a message that religion or a particular religious belief is favored or preferred. ● ● The Coercion Test – Lee v. Weisman (1992) The Constitution guarantees that government may not coerce anyone to support or participate in religion or its exercise or otherwise act in a way that establishes state religion or religious faith. In Lee, the Court held that a prayer that was not specific to any religion was unduly coercive at ​ ​ a public school’s graduation ceremony because it put pressure on students from the public and their peers to participate in, or at least show respect during, the prayers. ● The Neutrality Test – Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002) Government may promote a neutral policy that has the indirect effect of aiding religion. In Zelman, the Court upheld a voucher program for public school students, despite the fact ​ ​ that many students would use the government aid to attend religious schools. According to the majority, the government distributed the funds on a neutral basis. YAG Court of Appeals 2021 Van Orden v. Perry Case 1 Page 3 ● The Traditional/Historical Approach – Marsh v. Chambers (1983) This approach uses tradition and historical practice to define the scope of the Establishment Clause, asserting that it should not be interpreted to void practices that have long been accepted parts of social custom. In Marsh, the Court upheld a state’s authority to pay a chaplain to open sessions of the ​ ​ legislature with a prayer. Precedents ● Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) Lemon serves as a point of departure for determining whether state displays of symbols and ​ writings with a religious message are contrary to the First Amendment. While often criticized, sometimes ignored, and recently modified during its 32-year existence, the Lemon case has ​ ​ ​ ​ never been overruled by the Supreme Court of the United States. Lemon created a three-prong ​ ​ test. As originally formulated, a challenged activity must survive each prong to pass constitutional scrutiny: 1. The government activity in question must have a secular purpose (a display has the purpose ​ ​ of endorsing religion when it conveys or attempts to convey a message that religion or a particular religious belief is favored or preferred); 2. The activity’s primary effect cannot advance or inhibit religion (to determine effect the Court ​ ​ asks whether a viewer would reasonably believe the purpose of the display to be endorsement of a religious view); and 3. The government activity cannot foster an excessive entanglement with religion. ​ ​ In more recent cases, the Lemon test has been modified; however, these alterations have been ​ ​ in cases involving parochial education and not religious displays in public places. The Court has not made it clear whether the alterations apply to display cases or whether the original Lemon test is still applicable in such cases. ​ ● Stone v. Graham (1980) YAG Court of Appeals 2021 Van Orden v. Perry Case 1 Page 4 The Supreme Court dismissed a state legislature’s claimed secular purpose for requiring schools to post a copy of the Ten Commandments and held the policy unconstitutional. ● County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union (1989) This case established that a state may not have a single religious display (such as a crèche), but may have a display of multi-religious symbols along with secular symbols. In County of ​ Allegheny, the display of the Christmas tree and the menorah was permitted because a ​ Christmas tree was considered a secular symbol of a religious holiday and because the display as a whole symbolized the lights of freedom. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- YAG Court of Appeals 2021 Van Orden v. Perry Case 1 Page 5 U.S. Supreme Court Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971) ​ ​ Lemon v. Kurtzman No. 89 Argued March 3, 1971 Decided June 28, 1971 403 U.S. 602 APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA Syllabus Rhode Island's 1969 Salary Supplement Act provides for a 15% salary supplement to be paid to teachers in nonpublic schools at which the average per-pupil expenditure on secular education is below the average in public schools. Eligible teachers must teach only courses offered in the public schools, using only materials used in the public schools, and must agree not to teach courses in religion. A three-judge court found that about 25% of the State's elementary students attended nonpublic schools, about 95% of whom attended Roman Catholic affiliated schools, and that to date about 250 teachers at Roman Catholic schools are the sole beneficiaries under the Act. The court found that the parochial school system was "an integral part of the religious mission of the Catholic Church," and held that the Act fostered "excessive entanglement" between government and religion, thus violating the Establishment Clause. Pennsylvania's Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Education Act, passed in 1968, authorizes the state Superintendent of Public Instruction to "purchase" certain "secular educational services" from nonpublic schools, directly reimbursing those schools solely for teachers' salaries, textbooks, and instructional materials. Reimbursement is restricted to courses in specific secular subjects, the textbooks and materials must be approved by the Superintendent, and no payment is to be made for any course containing "any subject matter expressing religious teaching, or the morals or forms of worship of any sect." Contracts were made with schools that have more than 20% of all the students in the State, most of which were affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. The complaint challenging the constitutionality of the Act alleged that the church-affiliated schools are controlled by religious organizations, have the purpose of YAG Court of Appeals 2021 Van Orden v. Perry Case 1 Page 6 propagating and promoting a particular religious faith, and conduct their operations to fulfill that purpose. A three-judge court granted the State's motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim for relief, finding no violation of the Establishment or Free Exercise Clause. Held: Both statutes are unconstitutional under the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment, as the ​ cumulative impact of the entire relationship arising under the statutes involves excessive entanglement between government and religion.
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